Answer These 13 Questions, And We'll Tell You Whether You Should Quit, Stay or Make a Change

Should you stay or go (or try something different)? Making the decision whether to quit relies on multiple factors — your satisfaction with your work, your salary, your work-life balance, to name a few — and why you want to quit can often be a very personal decision. 

Whether you’re passively looking at new jobs or seriously considering the leap, here are 13 questions to empower you to make your decision — and see whether you should quit, stay, or make a change.

Quiz

1. How long have you been thinking about quitting?

B. About a month.

C. Over a month.

2. How challenged do you feel at work?

B. Very challenged — and I feel like I’m drowning.

C. Not challenged at all.

3. How do you feel about your day-to-day responsibilities?

B. I’m slightly bored, uninterested or like what I’m doing under 50% of the time.

C. I dread showing up and/or logging onto work at least 3 out of 5 days of the week.

4. What’s your salary like?

B. I could be making more, but my needs are covered.

C. It’s under what I should be making for my experience and industry.

5. And what about your benefits?

B. I have decent coverage, but definitely feel slightly jealous when I see what other companies are offering.

C. I’m unsatisfied with my benefits and have been seriously considering what other companies have to offer.

6. Are you financially prepared to quit right now?

B. I have a decent amount of savings, but would need to find a new position asap.

C. Yes; I could spend a few months or more job searching. 

7. What’s your work-life balance like?

B. I have some flexibility, but sometimes I work later than I want to.

C. I don’t have the work-life balance I want and it doesn’t look like others at the company do either.

8. What’s your mental health like in and outside of work?

B. Okay — I’m stressed more often than I’m not, but I have good work/life boundaries.

C. Poor — I’m constantly stressed and feeling on the verge of burnout.

9. What’s your relationship with your boss like?

B. Civil — we work together well but nothing out of the ordinary.

C. Bad or toxic — I dread having to deal with them.

10. What are your relationships with your coworkers like?

B. Civil — we work together well but I don’t feel attached.

C. Bad or toxic — I dread having to deal with them.

11. What does the future of your company look like?

B. My company has its ups and downs.

C. I’m not sure how long my company will be around (it might not be too much longer).

12. Do you have room to grow in your current role?

B. While I’m not sure what the opportunities are, there’s some room to expand my role in the future.

C. I imagine this is the highest level I’ll reach in my current company.

13. Imagine your ideal working day. What would you have to do in your current role to have your “ideal day”?

A. I’d focus on specific projects, hold specific meetings and use my flexibility to my advantage.

B. I’d have to stop working on some of my current tasks and focus on the parts of my job I really love.

C. I’d have to work on projects outside of my current role and change my usual working hours entirely.

Results

If you answered mostly As, you should likely stay in your current role.

Congratulations! You seem satisfied with your current job in many ways, whether it’s the actual projects you’re working on, your coworkers or your work-life balance. You most likely feel comfortable with your current salary and benefits. 

If you answered mostly Bs, you should consider making a change at work.

What does making a change mean? It depends on your current pain points at work. If you’re struggling with feeling passionate and challenged about your day-to-day responsibilities, talk to your manager about taking on new or different projects that flex your skills instead. If you love your company and team but feel mostly unsatisfied with your work, you can even consider making a lateral move if there are openings on other teams within the business. If you’re loving your work but aren’t happy with other aspects of your job — like salary or work-life balance — it’s worth having a conversation with your manager about how you can get more flexibility or boundaries at work, and what you can do to be up for a raise during your next performance review.

If you answered mostly Cs, it may be time to quit.

Quitting is a big decision, but it seems like you may be ready to jump ship. Whether you’re feeling burnt out, undercompensated, or just dreading work, you’re seriously struggling with your current position and it doesn’t seem like there are opportunities to make changes that would make you stay. That’s okay! While quitting can be scary or intimidating, it can also be an opportunity to find a job you really love — or at least one that makes you feel empowered to live your life as you want to. 

Should you quit, stay or make a change? What other questions would you ask yourself before making the decision? Share your answer in the comments to help other Fairygodboss'ers!

This article reflects the views of the author and not those of Fairygodboss.